Cooling and dehumidifying apparatus



y 1 G. R. SIEFKEN 2,283,391

COOLING AND DEHUMIDIFYINGAPPARATUS Filed April 11, 1940 v WWW ATTORNEY;

Patented May 19, 1942 COOLING AND DEHUMIDIFYING APPARATUS George R.Sieiken, New York, N. Y.

Application April 11, 1940, Serial No. 329,029

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for air conditioning and isconcerned more particularly with a novel apparatus by which the airwithin a room may be cooled, dehumidified, and circulated. The apparatusof the invention is of simple relatively inexpensive construction andmay be maintained and operated at low cost. Also, it is compact and may,therefore, be advantageously installed in oillces and other rooms wherefloor space is valuable.

The new apparatus comprises a cabinet having air inlet and outletopenings connected by a passage through which a stream of air is causedto flow by a fan. Outside the passage is a compartment open to the roomand within the passage and compartment are cooling units connectedtogether and supplied with a cooling medium which flows first throughthe compartment unit and then through the passage unit. The unit in thecompartment is, accordingly, maintained at a lower temperature than theunit in the passage and, since the air circulates through thecompartment at a relatively low speed, the compartment unit is eflectiveto dehumidify the air while the air is cooled without substantialdehumidiflcation in the passage.

Because of the condensation of moisture on the unit in the compartment,it is desirable to make that unit of a non-corrodible material, such asaluminum, or else to provide the unit with a non-corrodible coating. Theunit in the passage is preferably made of copper, which is of high heatconductivity, and the use of copper in this unit is not objectionablebecause there is little or no condensation thereon and thus littlecorrosion occurs.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view, taken on the line l-l of Fig. 2, of one formof apparatus of the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 2--2 and 3-3,respectively, of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale showing theconstruction of portions of the cooling units.

The apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises of the compartment may beprovided with inlet openings I 5. The rear and front walls of thecabinet are provided with air outlet openings l8 leading from thepassage l3 at the top of the cabinet and deflector vanes ll may bemounted on the outer wall of the cabinet to deflect the air issuing fromthe outlets in an upward direction.

Within the compartment is a cooling unit which, in the constructionshown, comprises two coils l8, each coil consisting of lengths of pipingconnected by return bends and those pipes which form a coil passingthrough fins [8. The fins are metal plates having openings punchedtherein for the passage of the pipes and in the punching operation, aflange l9a is struck out of the metal around each opening. The fins areassembled on the pipes so that the flanges of one fin bears against theadjacent surface 'of the next fln and the flanges thus insure contact oftheir fins with the pipes over an extended area and also serve as ameans by which the fins are properly spaced.

The upper coil I8 is connected by a pipe 20 to a container 2! withinwhich is mounted a helical coil 22 having inlet and outlet pipes 23a,2317. A cooling medium is supplied to the vessel 25 through a pipe 24and its branch 25 containing a valve 26 and the pipe 25 is alsoconnected by a branch 21 containing a valve 28 to the uppermost coil 29of a series of coils mounted within the passage 13 and connectedtogether. The coils 29 are similar in construction to coils l8 and thelowermost coil in the passage is provided with a discharge pipe 30.Below the coils IS in the compartment is a collecting pan 3| leadingfrom which is a discharge pipe 32, the pan forming the lower wall of thecompartment. With the arrangement described, the cooling medium may bedirected into the vessel 2| to flow therethrough and thence throughcoils l8 and 29, successively, or, if desired, the valves 26 and 28 maybe operated so that the cooling medium is supplied only to coils 29.

At the bottom of the cabinet is mounted a pair of fans 33 of anysuitable construction, these tans drawing air through openings l5 andthe screen at the rear of the compartment into the lower end of thecabinet below the pan 3| and forcing the air upward through the passagein contact with coils 29 and out through the outlet openings l6.

In the operation of the apparatus, the tans cause a continual flow ofair through the passage, and the action of the fans causes the air tocirculate in the room, so that the air flows through the compartment andcomes into contact with the coils i8 therein. The coils l8 first receivethe cooling medium and are thus at a lower temperature than the coils29. Because of their lower temperature and of the relatively lowvelocity of the air through the compartment, coils I8 areeflective toproduce dehumidiflcation of the air and the moisture removed condensesupon the coils and is collected in the pan ll. Because of thecondensation formed thereon, the coils l8 and their fins are preferablymade of aluminum, although they may be formed of copper and providedwith a non-corrodible coating, such as tin. The cooling coils 29 are ata relatively higher temperature than units l8 and the air travels fastertherethrough so that little or no condensation of moisture occurs. Theunits 29 are, therefore, preferably made of copper, because of its highheat conductivity, and the use of copper is not objectionable for thepurpose, since little corrosion occurs.

For most purposes, the cooling medium employed is ordinary city waterwhich, in most 10- calities, is of sufiiciently low temperature toprovide the desired cooling and dehumidifying effects. If thetemperature of the water is not suiliciently low, it may be lowered bypassing a refrigerant produced by conventional equipment through thecoil 22 of vessel 2|. In some cases where dehumidification is notimportant, the cooling medium may be passed directly into the coils 29so that a greater cooling efiect is provided thereby.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for conditioning the air in a room, which comprises acabinet, the interior of which is subdivided by a partition into acompartment and a passage, the passage having an inlet and an outlet atopposite ends and the compartment being open to the room, cooling unitslying in the compartment and passage, respectively, and connectedtogether, means for supplying a relatively cool medium to thecompartment unit to flow therethrough and then through the unit in thepassage, and a fan for drawing air from the room and passing it throughthe passage only, the arrangement being such that air circulating withinthe room has only convection circulation through the compartment.

2. Apparatus for conditioning the air in a room, which comprises acabinet, the interior of which is subdivided by a partition into acompartment and a passage, the passage having an inlet and an outlet atopposite ends and the compartment being open to the room, cooling unitslying in the compartment and passage, respectively, and connectedtogether, means for supplying a relatively cool medium to thecompartment unit to flow therethrough and then through the unit in thepassage, a fan for drawing .air from the room and passing it through thepassage only, the arrangement being such that air circulating within theroom has only convection circulation through the compartment, and meansat the bottom of the compartment for collecting condensed moisturedropping from the compartment coil.

3. Apparatus for conditioning the air in a room, which comprises acabinet, the interior of which is subdivided by a partition into acompartment and a passage, the passage having an inlet and an outlet atopposite ends and the compartment being open to the room, cooling unitslying in the compartment and passage, respectively, and connectedtogether, means for supplying a relatively cool medium to thecompartment unit to flow therethrough and then through the unit in thepassage, means for cooling the medium on its way to the compartmentunit, said means including a vessel through which the medium flows andmeans forcooling the contents of the vessel, and a fan for drawing airfrom the room and passing it through the passage only, the arrangementbeing such that air circulating within the room has only convectioncirculation through the compartment.

GEORGE R. SIEFKEN.

